Fate
by FreeSymphonian
Summary: When Vivian woke up on the evening of July third, she had no memories. she wanted to remember her past no matter what, but will it be more than she can handle.
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! Welcome to Fate! I've been writing this story since I was a freshman in high school and now, I'm a freshman in college. It's pretty insane to see how this story has grown. As you're going to be able to see, the writing style of this story is pretty awful at first. One day, I plan to change that, but for now, my main focus is finishing this story. Through the first ten chapters or so, you'll be able to see the writing style I had a high school freshman. It's pretty embarrassing to say the least, but if you stick with me, I promise the writing will become much better. I've grown as a writer and later chapters are written very well. It's certainly not as cringy as some of the early chapters ^^"**

 **So take some time to read my most developed story ever and I hope you enjoy the ride!**

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April 8th

Pain, agony, fear. These are all things that I feel everyday. Worried that I won't be able to survive till tomorrow, or won't be able to see the people I care about ever again. I miss my parents and my brother, I haven't seen any of them for so long. Are they still alive? Do they even remember me? I wish I could see them all one more time, but that'll never happen. Miracles never happen to mistakes. I shouldn't even exist. They're constantly shouting at me, telling me that I've only caused people pain and suffering, that I'm worthless...nothing. They say they need me alive, but yet they whip and stab me enough to kill me. Dammit… Why can't they just kill me? It would end all the suffering, but would it really solve anything?

June 21st

I'm out and I'm running. I don't know where I'm going, but my feet are moving as fast as they can. They'll come looking for me, I'm sure of it. But for today, I'm free. I'm going to make my wish come true, it starts with finding Lloyd. It'll be easier to search for him from the sky, so that's my plan. I'll find him, that's a promise.

June 22nd

I'm running out of mana, and I honestly have no idea where I am or what's going on. I'm scared and I don't know what to do. Lloyd's no where to be found and I don't know where else to look. Dear Martel, please help me.

Vivian Aurion

Part One: Before the Journey

It was cold. Wasn't it supposed to be mid summer?... What day is it? Last I remember, it was June twenty second. Wasn't it raining? The sun's out, so what happened to the rain?

Everything around me was a blur. Shades of red, blue, and white filled my vision. What's going on? I rubbed at my eyes, trying to focus my vision so I could see what was in front of me. Three figures were staring down at me, eyes wide and full of worry. The look on their faces startled me. Why did they look scared? Wait? Who are they anyway?

"Hey, are you okay?" The boy in red asked, supporting me with his arms.

"Y-Yes," I nodded. "I'm fine."

"You look really pale," A blonde in white told me, concerned.

"I...I'm seriously fine," I whispered, unable to speak any louder. "Where am I?"

"In the forest outside of Iselia," The boy in red explained, helping me to my feet. "Where do you live? Maybe we can take you to your family."

"My… family?" I tilted my head.

"Do you not have any family?" A boy with silver hair asked.

"I… don't know," I stated, looking at my feet.

"You don't know?" The red boy ran a hand through his brown spiky hair.

"Lloyd, I think she has amnesia," The silver haired boy pointed out as if it were obvious. "What's your name?"

I stared at them. Wasn't it rude to ask for someone's name when you haven't already introduced yourself? I crossed my arms. "Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine."

"Hey! That's my line!" Lloyd shouted.

"It's like she can read your mind," The blonde giggled, leaning forward a bit and smiling. "My names Colette Brunel."

"Genis Sage," The boy in blue held his hand out. I shook his hand and looked over at Lloyd. Even though I had already figured out what his name was, it was still polite to introduce yourself.

"...Lloyd, Lloyd Irving," He frowned slightly, seeming to be in deep thought.

"It's nice to meet all of you," I bowed my head. "My names Vivian, Vivian Aurion."


	2. Chapter 1

Lloyd, Colette and Genis all had other plans, so not long after we introduced ourselves, they had left me alone. Since I didn't have anywhere to go, I sat up against a tree, thinking to myself.

 _How did I end up here? I can't even remember what I was doing before I met those guys. What happened to me?_ I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming. _Am I hearing things, or did I just hear something howl?_ Before I could even look around to see what had made the sound, a large white and green dog came into my vision and tackled me. I winced a bit as my back hit the ground. "Get off me!"

The dog began to lick my face with an adorable look on his face. "Aww!" My eyes sparkled. "You're so cute!" I started to pet behind his ear with a smile.

"Noishe!" a masculine voice shouted, footsteps approaching. "Down!" The dog whimpered and leaped off of me, giving me a view of who had ordered him off.

Lloyd approached me, offering a hand. "You okay? Sorry 'bout that, he's normally afraid of other people beside me."

"It's fine," I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. "He's kind of cute."

Lloyd smiled. "And pretty loyal, he's helped me get out of a lot of stuff."

I returned the smile, "Well, dog is man's best friend."

"Hehe," Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, a slight frown forming on his lips. "What are you still doing out here anyway? It's getting late and the later it gets the more dangerous the monsters are."

"...I don't have anywhere to stay…" I muttered, looking down at my feet.

"Why don't you go to the inn?"

"No money…" Narrowing my eyes, I looked away. I was pretty helpless, I don't even have enough money for food, let alone an inn.

"Oh," He raised a hand to his chin, deep in thought. A grin formed on his face after a few short seconds. "Then you can stay with my dad and I!"

"Huh?" My eyes widened.

"Well if you don't have anywhere to stay, then I'm sure my dad would let you stay with us," He explained.

"But… I don't want to impose…"

"You wouldn't at all! You can stay with us until you find a place to stay! Come on!" Lloyd's expression was determined. If I didn't say yes, he'd probably be pretty upset.

I sighed. "Fine, but if it's really a problem then I can just find another place to stay."

"It won't be a problem, I'm positive," He motioned for me to follow him.

I walked up next to him, a small smile on my face. _This was far too kind. I thought I'd just be sleeping under the stars somewhere in the middle of the forest._

"Hey," Lloyd spoke up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" I asked.

"That exsphere on your collarbone… where'd you get it?"

I looked down at the gem that rested just below my neck. It was purple and had a gold rim around it with tiny writing on it. _When had I gotten this?_ "Umm, I'm not sure. I honestly don't remember."

"Oh, right," Lloyd looked down. "Sorry for bringing it up."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

I looked around as we walked through the forest. It seemed very dense and I could see a few monsters that were a few feet away from us. They seemed tame, but they were also watching my every move. Feeling scared I spoke up, "Lloyd, there are some monsters over there and they're staring at us... Are we almost there?"

Lloyd nodded. "My cabin is right around the corner." He turned to face me, "Don't worry about the monsters, if they give us a hard time, I'll take care of them." The three of us walked down the path and it soon opened up and a small cabin could be seen. I gasped in excitement and started to run around the area. Vines wrapped around part of the cabin and there was a small balcony coming out of the second floor.

Lloyd's voice interrupted my exploring, "Looks like my dad's not home. I was thinking that he could make you some new clothes, your dress looks a little small."

Looking down at my dress, I noticed that my plain white dress didn't look very white anymore. There were dirt spots all over it and the little brown bag that I was carrying, and Lloyd was right, the dress was a little small. "But, I love this dress! I think my father got it for me! I want to keep it!"

"Okay you can keep it! But you should still get something new." He paused, "You know, that was the first time you mentioned your father. What was he like?"

I thought about it for a second, "I don't know…"

"Do you remember anything?"

Wanting to be able to answer I thought harder, I wanted to know more than he did. My thoughts turned into flashes and my head started to ache, an image in my head came into focus.

" _You can't do this, you're the only thing she has!" A man with a lower pitched voice spoke quietly._

" _It's not like I have a choice!" Another man shouted. "If I don't let her go she'll die! And you know that she won't be the only one to die!"_

The picture became fuzzy and with that memory going on in my head, I let out a scream, "No! I'll be a good girl! Don't leave me alone!" Lloyd ran over to me as my knees fell to the ground, putting his arm around me for support.

"Are you okay! Come on! Calm down, you're safe!"

As small man in a brown shirt and blue overalls came running toward us. "Lloyd what's going on?!" He knelt down beside us. "Is she okay?"

My head stopped hurting as calmed down. Looking around, I forgot where exactly I was. "Where am I?" I saw the small cabin and realized I hadn't moved at all. _It seemed so real_ …

Lloyd sighed. "You're at my cabin, remember?" He turned to the small man sitting next to him. "I think she's fine now, but she was shouting something about not wanting to be left alone." He looked at the ground, "When I first found her she had no memory of anything… So I kind of told her that she could stay with us…" His face changed and it seemed like he was truly scared of what the man was going to do.

The man stared at Lloyd for a few seconds, I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. He soon started to laugh and patted Lloyd on the back. "The look on ya face was perfect! Ya remembered the Dwarven Vow number two." He stood up and looked over at me, "If ya have nowhere else to go, yer welcome to stay here as long as ya'd like. The names Dirk Irvin' by the way!" Then without another word he walked inside the cabin and shut the door.

A small breeze started right as the sun set in the distance, it was as if everything had come to a stop because no one moved, not even Noishe. The silence didn't last long because Lloyd let out a big yawn and started to speak. "I have school tomorrow so I'm going to bed. You should go to bed soon too." He waved and walked inside the cabin.

As I watched he walk inside and Noishe went into his little pen. I followed Noishe and watched him lie down. As the sky became black I sat down next to him and looked up at the sky. When the first star became visible in the night sky, I made a wish. "I wish to remember something…. anything," I opened my small bag and found a small journal with a lock on it. I gasped and started to search the bag for the key. Moving my hand around the entire bag, I found that the key was not there. I sighed and put the journal back in my bag. Leaning up against Noishe, I thought about everything that happened that day, and fell asleep.

I stretched my arms out and looked around, seeing that it was morning. I saw that Noishe was still sleeping so I tried to stand up quietly. Walking out of his pen, I went inside the little cabin to see if anyone was there, but when I opened the cabin door, no one was there. I sighed and looked around, there was a small work area on the side of the room and a table with a bench on each side. On the table was a green apple and a pink dress, there was a note next to the dress which said,

 _Lloyd told me that you needed new clothes, hope you like pink._

 _Dirk_

I picked up the apple and smiled, "If this is what kindness feels like then I never want to feel anything else."

Before I walked back outside, I went into a small bathroom in the back of the cabin. I stepped through the doorway and stood in front of the sink and mirror. After I splashed water on my face to wake myself up, I looked in the mirror. My long hazel brown hair rested halfway down my back and as I ran my hand through it, I realized that I would need a haircut. It was as if I hadn't had one in a few years. My eyes. A dark brown. They looked exhausted. The dark circles proved that I hadn't slept much lately. Trying to push the thought of why I was so tired to the back of my mind, I quickly changed into the pink dress. It was kind of cute, the small flower design in the seams gave it a special feel. I liked it.

The sun was still coming over the horizon when I walked out of the cabin and toward Iselia. There weren't many people in town yet, but there were a few kids running towards what looked like a school. I followed a small group of kids before they walked into the school then sat on the ground next to the door and watched the rest of the children walk in.

The school bell rang throughout the town and the last of the children walked into the school. I finished eating the green apple that Dirk had left for me, stood up and started to walk away from the school, but something stopped me. I had never gone to school, so I didn't know what it was like. I wanted to learn just like all the other kids so I went back towards the school and walked in.

When I entered, I found a short hallway that lead to a classroom at the end. I made my way to the doorway to the room, staying off to the side so no one would see me, I poked my head in the doorway. There was a professor at the front of the room that must have heard me because she turned her head toward the door. I quickly took my head out of the doorway and not knowing when she stopped looking, I didn't look back in. After a few minutes I heard snoring coming from the back of the classroom so I poked my head back into the doorway and saw that Lloyd was sleeping while the professor was trying teach a lesson. I started to laugh as quietly as I could. At that moment the professor stopped in the middle of her sentence and launched her piece of chalk right at Lloyd's forehead. Lloyd fell backwards off his chair, "Professor!" he whined.

The professor stormed toward Lloyd's desk, "How many times do I have to tell you!? Don't sleep in my class!" When I noticed that she was heading towards the doorway, I tried to hide myself, but I was too late, the professor was already grabbing my arm and pulling me into class. "And why are you spying on my class!?"

I was so scared I could hardly talk, "I- umm-"

"Professor, stop! That's the girl I was telling you about!" I turned and saw Colette was the one who spoke up for me. Colette stood up from her chair with a concerned look on her face. "Please don't be mad at her, she doesn't know many people in town so she was probably wandering around when she saw the school." She walked over to us and smiled at me, "She wasn't doing anything wrong."

I smiled back at Colette feeling a little safer now that she was standing there. That feeling soon went away when I looked up at the professor and saw her eyes, they looked so angry and dark, like she was ready to attack me at any time.

The professor looked from me to Colette and after a few seconds she finally calmed down. "Fine, I won't get angry. Colette go back to your seat." Colette nodded and returned to her seat. The professor turned her attention towards me, "Have you ever gone to school?"

"I don't think so…" I stumbled, I didn't know whether I had gone to school or not. Either way, I wanted to be able to learn _something_ that could maybe help me remember.

"Okay, then you can join this class." She looked around the room for a moment, "There's an open seat in the back of the room next to Lloyd, you can sit there. Hopefully you're a good student and you won't fall asleep in class like him." I ran to the seat next to Lloyd, and when I got there I noticed that Lloyd had fallen asleep again. Before I could wake him up, the professor walked behind Lloyd and yanked his ear, pulling him out of the room. There were sounds of screaming coming from Lloyd and many of the kids around me started to laugh.

Genis who was sitting in the middle of the room next to Colette turned around, "Don't worry! This happens basically everyday." He looked around, leaned in and whispered, "He's an idiot, but don't tell him I told you that, he'll deny it and try to tell you that he's one of the smartest kids in class."

I stared at Genis for a few seconds and soon started to laugh with the class. Not long after, the professor pushed Lloyd back into his desk and went back to the front of the room. "Now, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted." She gave an evil look in Lloyd's direction making him hide under his desk in fear. "We were going to discuss your homework from yesterday, but before we do that, since we have a new student you all must welcome her with your best kindness. Now, can you please introduce yourself to the class?" She looked at me a gave a warm smile...that didn't look like her at all.

Standing up from my desk, I looked around the room to see all the new faces. "Umm, my name is Vivian Aurion and I'm new to town…" I paused not knowing what to say when someone raised their hand and asked where I lived.

Before I could answer Lloyd spoke up, "She said she didn't have anywhere else to go, so my dad and I took her in."

He smiled up at me, but the smiled soon disappeared when another piece of chalk hit him in the forehead once again. "Let her speak for herself!" The professor shouted.

"Umm… what he said is true, Dirk and Lloyd are allowing me to stay with them."

"Alright," The professor glared at Lloyd with an even eviler look. "You may sit down. I am Raine Sage, but you can just call me Professor." She turned back toward the chalkboard and continued the lesson that she was teaching before I joined the class.

When the school day ended, almost everyone in the room ran out the door, the only people in the room were me, Colette and the Professor. They seemed to be talking about the lesson that was taught that day. I walked up to them shyly, "Umm… I just wanted to thank you for letting me join your class," I addressed Raine.

Raine's eyes lit up, "It was no problem at all! I love teaching new students about the history of Sylvarant!" She sighed. "It's sad that you had to join our class when Lloyd was napping."

Colette giggled quietly. "It would have been hard to find a time for her to join when he wasn't napping."

"Is that going to happen everyday?" I questioned.

"Most likely," Professor sighed. "If there was another seat open, I wouldn't have put you in the seat next to Lloyd. I hope he doesn't make you a bad student, I don't need a second Lloyd."

I shook my head, "Don't worry! I'll even try to make him a better student!"

"We've all tried to make him a better student, it's really hard." Colette commented. "But I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks!"

I turned to walk away, but Colette stopped me. "I'll walk out with you." I nodded and we walked out.

"So, how do you like Iselia?" Colette asked with a smile.

"Well, even though I haven't been here very long, I'm loving it." I explained. "Everyone is so nice! I thought that I would be alone, but then Lloyd invited me to stay with him. That was such a kind gesture!"

Colette nodded, "That's Lloyd for you. When someone is in need, he'll always be there to help."

"Unless he's napping."

We both started to laugh as we walked outside. Lloyd and Genis were standing near the doorway and noticed us immediately.

"What are you two laughing at?" Lloyd asked us with a confused look on his face.

"You and your napping in class." I answered. "How can you sleep that much in a day?"

"Easy, I get bored and fall asleep." he explained. "Most of the things Professor says just confuses me! School is too hard!"

Genis grinned. "Most people your age know about what happened during the Ancient War."

"Hey! I try my best!"

I continued to snicker. _How can he try his best when he sleeps?_

Lloyd interrupted my thoughts by elbowing me in the side. "Stop laughing you dork!"

"Who are you calling a dork?" I yelled as I jumped on his back. "Just for that, you can carry me for the rest of the day!"

"As if!" He pushed me off his back causing me to fall to the ground.

We continued to bicker for a few minutes, and it must have annoyed Genis because in the corner of my eye I saw him lift up his kendama.

"Aqua Edge!" A large wave of water appeared in front of Lloyd and I drenching us in water. "Stop bickering already!"

I immediately pointed at Lloyd, "He started it!" For that Genis sent another wave of water in my direction. "Hmph, jerk."

Lloyd was looking around the area as if something were missing. "Where's Colette?"

"Well while you two were bickering, she went home. She tried to tell you guys, but you didn't listen." Genis scolded us.

I rubbed the back off my neck and looked away, "Nice, now I feel bad."

"Me too," Lloyd announced, turning away from us. "I'm going to go apologize."

My thoughts moved away from the current situation and I started to think about the journal that I had found the night before. I wonder what's written in there. Maybe it would help me remember…

When I came out of my thoughts I saw Lloyd staring at me, "Hey, are you listening?"

"Umm… Yeah of course!"

"Then what did he say?" Genis crossed his arms.

"Words?"

The two boys sighed before bursting out laughing. "Words?! Wow that's such a great answer!" they mocked me.

I looked away, "Fine, maybe I wasn't listening. I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked you if you wanted to come to Colette's house to apologize." Lloyd told me.

"Of course! I would feel bad if I didn't." After that it didn't take long before we said goodbye to Genis and started to walk towards Colette's house.

There was a long pause, it was like neither of us had anything to say. Lloyd looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn't know how. It wasn't long before he spoke up.

"So, how much do you remember?"

 _Wait… Was he worried about, me? That's why he's been quiet?_

I frowned. "Well, the only thing I can remember right now is my name. I wish I knew more, but everytime I think about it, my head starts to ache."

Lloyd stopped and looked me in the eye, "I'm going to help you get your memory back, no matter how long it takes. I'm not leaving you until you remember."

I wanted to look away, but my head never turned away. I didn't want to be a burden Lloyd by staying with him for however long it was going to take to get my memory back. If I never got my memory back, Lloyd would have spent all that time trying to help me for nothing. "I-I don't want to cause you any trouble. If you want to help me, I'm fine with that, but I don't want to be a burden."

He clenched his fists, "You are not a burden! Never think like that!" Lloyd looked away, "I'm tired of everyone saying that they're a burden! I'm going to help you no matter what anyone tells me!"

My eyes widened. He had gotten defensive so quickly, I must not have been the first person to tell him that. "Thank you… I really appreciate it." I placed my hand on his shoulder for support because I had started to feel light-headed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Lloyd shook his head, "It's okay, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have yelled." He paused and looked down at me. "Are you okay? You're gripping my shoulder pretty tightly."

"I...I'm fine. Just really light-headed all of a sudden." I said, rubbing my head.

Lloyd's eyes filled with concern. "Do you want to head home now? We can apologize to Colette tomorrow, she won't mind."

"No, I'm fine. Don't… worry about… me." My breathing started to become very heavy. It was as if a boulder was sitting on my chest. My hand started to slip off of Lloyd's shoulder and my legs started to feel like jelly.

As I started to fall, Lloyd's arms supported me so that I didn't hit the ground, "Hey! Are you okay!?"

I couldn't make out the words. Everything was spinning and all I could see was a red blur from Lloyd's clothes. I heard him say something, but I couldn't tell what it was. My sight started to fill with black dots and soon the darkness took over.

" _You can't be scared. The more fear you show the worse it'll be." A dark purple blur started to speak._

" _How can I not be scared? They're trying to kill me! I don't want to die." My voice rang through the air._

 _The purple blur voice lowered. "I promise you that they won't kill you. If they kill you then they won't be able to finish what they started."_

" _What do they want with me anyway?"_

" _I'm sorry, I can't tell you that."_

 _I started to cry. "Why can't you tell me?"_

" _That would only put you in more danger!" The man yelled. "You can't die! If you die then many others will too!"_

The image dissolved and my eyes slowly started to open. I was leaning against a tree in the forest outside of Iselia. How did I get here? I looked forward and saw a small pack of monsters attacking Lloyd. He had his dual swords out and was fighting them off the best he could. I saw in his eyes that he was tired. It seemed that the fight had been going on for a nice length of time. I wanted to help, but when I tried to move my head just throbbed.

A few monsters had left the center of the fighting and started to move towards me. I didn't know how to fight and even if I had, I didn't have a weapon. They moved in closer, within a few feet now. Lloyd had taken notice and was trying to push his way through the monsters. The monsters were dangerously close, I was terrified, I didn't want to die. When they were about a foot away, I shielded my face and started to scream. The growls from the monsters stopped. I opened my eyes and saw that the monsters were frozen in the air. It didn't seem possible. Lloyd wasn't able to use magic and there was no one else around. I looked down at myself and saw that I was glowing. I clenched my hands and right when my hands made a fist, the monsters in front of me burst into tiny sparkles. Did I do that?

Lloyd managed to fight off the rest of the monsters before his realized what had happened. He walked over and knelt down. "Are you okay? Y-You're glowing."

The light that was surrounding me was becoming more dim. When the light disappeared I looked up at Lloyd. "I think s-so. What happened?"

"I was carrying you home when a pack of monsters attacked. I've been fighting for about a half hour. Are you sure you're okay? You're looking pretty pale."

I slowly nodded. My head had started to hurt worse than before and the world around me became blurry once again. Soon the darkness fell over me once again.

* * *

 **I swear.. I really need to go through and rewrite this. I definitely will one day! I promise you guys that! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

"Will she eve' wake up?"

"Yes, but I don't know when. She could wake up within a few days, weeks, months or even years."

"I hope she wakes up soon, I don't need another innocent person dying because of me."

"She won't die, I promise. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"Ya did all ya could. Thank ya."

Two sets of footsteps left the room and went downstairs. I opened my eyes weakly and tried to move my legs, but they wouldn't move. I couldn't feel any part of my body, it was like I was paralyzed.

A bright light flashed through the room causing my eyes to go black and not long after I fell unconscious again.

 _ **Two weeks later**_

It was dark outside, the only light in the room was the light from the full moon. As my eyes opened once again, I saw that Lloyd was sitting in the chair that sat next to my bed. He was sound asleep, it looked like nothing would wake him. I sat up and stood up from the bed, but as I stood up my legs started to feel like jello and I fell to the ground. Looking up at Lloyd I saw that he hadn't woken up. I decided not to try and stand up because I thought that I would fall again.

I began to crawl towards the porch, knowing that if I went downstairs, I would hurt myself in the process. When I got onto the porch I grabbed the handrail to support myself as I stood up. In the sky the moon was bright and the stars gave the sky a beautiful sparkle. It was as if the world was frozen in time, nothing moved, not even the wind. I gazed at the night sky in awe. I hadn't seen anything this pretty in so long. I moved my hands from the handrail and reached to the sky, but without the support of the railing I fell to ground once more.

I reached up towards the rail but I didn't have the strength to pull myself up again. I sighed and tried to push myself to my feet. As I tried to do this a hand appeared next to me. I looked up and saw that the hand belonged to Lloyd. "You really shouldn't be out here." He told me. "You should've woken me."

"I-I'm sorry…" I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up. When I got on my feet I grabbed the handrail for support.

We both went silent for a few minutes before Lloyd spoke up, "Two weeks, that's how long you been asleep."

"That long?"

He nodded. "The doctor said that you may not be able to use your legs for a while, but one day you'll be able to use them again. He said it shouldn't be long, but it'll be at least a month. Dad's making you a wheelchair so you can still move around."

I looked away from Lloyd, "Were you worried?"

"A little… Each night after you got hurt, I had dreams about my parents. You were in every one of those dreams." He paused for a moment, his face confused. "Did we know each other as kids?"

I had had the same feeling, Lloyd seemed so familiar when I met him in Iselia. "I don't know… maybe…" There was a gust of wind and a long pause. What was Lloyd thinking?

Lloyd held out his hand, "You should go back inside, it'll still be awhile til the sun comes up so you should try to get some rest." I took his hand and nodded.

When they got inside I sat on my bed and looked up at Lloyd. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

Lloyd put his hand on my head. "It wasn't your fault." He started to walk towards his bed. "Oh and Vivian?"

"What?"

He came back over and wrapped his arms around me, "Don't get hurt again. I would never forgive myself if you did."

I returned the hug, "I won't, I promise."

The sun rose in the west as I crawled downstairs. Lloyd had already left for school, but Dirk was still there. He was working on a dagger that looked to be made of magic iron. When I got to the bottom of the steps he stopped working on the dagger and looked towards me. "Yer awake. I was starting to worry that ya weren't going to wake up." Dirk walked to the side of the room and pushed a wooden wheelchair over to me. "Here, this'll help ya move until yer legs start to work." He lifted me up and set me in the wheelchair.

I began to wheel myself around the room. It was so easy to use, no one would need to push the chair for me. "Thank you so much!"

"Yer welcome. Ya can explore town today if ya'd like, not much to do but it's better than being cooped up here."

I nodded and went out the door. I wanted to get outside to see the sunlight I hadn't seen in two weeks.

"Vivian!" Colette jumped out of her desk and ran towards the door. Lloyd turned towards the door and saw I was in the doorway sitting in my wheelchair.

Colette gave me a big hug, "I missed you! I visited you everyday! Don't make me worry about you ever again!"

I smiled, "I won't, but you're hurting me so could you please let go."

Colette gasped, "Oh! Sorry!" She let go and sighed. "I guess I missed you too much…"

"Don't worry about it!" I turned the wheelchair in the direction of Lloyd. "I'm sorry again for any trouble I caused you."

Lloyd waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, it couldn't be helped. Now, you should probably be somewhere other than school. If Professor sees you here, she make you stay for class. I'm not sure you should come back to class just yet."

I looked away, "Oh, okay."

I started to wheel myself out the door when Lloyd stopped me. "I'll push you out." I nodded and we left the room.

We made our way outside, Lloyd pushed my wheelchair off to the side of the school door so the other students could enter. "You should go home, I don't need you getting hurt again. You promised you wouldn't get yourself hurt again." Lloyd explained.

"I know I promised, but I haven't seen anyone is two weeks. I just wanted to be around people." I protested.

"Can't you stay home for one day, just one?" Lloyd asked.

"Fine. One day, but that's it. I have to ask your dad something anyway."

"Really? What?"

I smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about." And with that I was wheeling away from him.

Lloyd sighed. "I feel like I should be scared."

I walked inside Lloyd's cabin and saw Dirk sitting at the table. "Dirk, could I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure, what do ya need?" Dirk questioned.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the journal. "I don't know where the key is to this journal. Could you pick the lock for me?"

Dirk nodded, "I can do that." He took the journal from my hand and took it over to his work area. Once the lock popped open he handed it back to me. "There ya go!"

"Thank you so much!" I took the journal and sat down on the other side of the table. I stared at it for a second before opening it. The first entry read,

 _I don't know how much more I can take, it's torture. Not even dad is helping me anymore, he gave up trying. They're going to change my location again. I just wish one of them led me back to him._

Him? Him who? Wanting to know more, I read the next entry.

 _They brought me to Asgard, the pain is worse here then it was in Palmacosta. I'm alone, no one talks to me and when they do it's only to scold me. I really miss my brother._

Brother?!

 _I think they're trying to kill me. If they are then nothing's working. Everything they do doesn't hurt anymore. He would have helped me, I wish Lloyd were here._

"What!?" I shouted.

"What's wrong?" Dirk asked.

"Read the first three journal entries." I slid the journal to other side of the table where Dirk read what he was told.

He didn't say anything for a few minutes. His face looked blank. "So, now ya know."

"Is it true? Is Lloyd really my brother?"

Dirk nodded. "He is. The day ah found Lloyd, ya were there too. Someone told me who ya two were and told me to take care of ya. Only a week after that, ya disappeared. Yer bed was empty and no knew where you where. Lloyd eventually forgot about you because he was so young."

I couldn't make out the words. I was silent. Lloyd was my… brother? How? I wouldn't forget my own brother, that's just unforgivable.

At the absolute worst time, Lloyd pushed the door to the cabin open and walked inside. "Professor is sick today so class was canceled." Lloyd walked through the door and looked in my direction. "What did I miss?"

"I-I…" I never finished my sentence. I just wheeled myself out the door as fast as I could. I didn't know how I felt, but at the moment I was just scared. After figuring out Lloyd was her brother, my head started to hurt more than before.

I didn't slow down until I entered Iselia. A few people glanced my way, but I ignored them. I wanted to be alone so I could calm down.

Looking around I saw a small pond with a waterfall outside of someone's home. I went and sat in front of the pond and stared into the water. This doesn't make sense. I would never forget my own brother. I shook her head. If Lloyd were really my brother he would have remembered me… right?

The door of the house behind me opened interrupting my thoughts. "Vivian?" I turned my head and saw Genis standing in the doorway. This must be his house.

"Oh, u-um, I'm sorry for trespassing. I wanted to be alone and there aren't many places around here for that."

Genis shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Lloyd comes here to be alone all the time too."

I looked away, "Lloyd…"

"Hey, are you okay?" Genis said sitting down next to me.

"...Well," I started after a short pause. "I found a journal in the bag I was carrying when you found me and when I opened it I learned something about my family." Genis nodded so I knew that I could go on. "I wrote something about missing my brother and then it said that my brother was Lloyd…" I looked down, "Dirk even said it was true."

Genis was silent. Does he think I'm lying? Maybe I shouldn't have told him. He probably doesn't trust me yet, I mean we just met. Then he surprised me, he started to laugh. I stared at him, "What's so funny? Do you think I'm lying?"

He shook his head, "No, it's just while you were unconscious, Lloyd got curious and went snooping through your bag. He kind of read your journal because he wanted to help you regain your memory."

My eyes grew wide. "What is wrong with him!? Reading a girls journal is just wrong!" I crossed my arms. "I need to have a talk with him!"

Genis started to laugh even harder than before, "That's Lloyd for you, he likes to invade others personal space."

The angry look on my face soon faded and turned into a smile and before I knew it, I was laughing too. I no longer felt like my world was falling apart. Maybe having Lloyd as a brother isn't so bad.

"Hey…" Genis spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"Lloyd was just as shocked as you. He didn't go to school for a few days because he didn't want to leave your side. He wanted to make sure that if you woke up, he would be the first person you saw."

"Really?"

He nodded. "When he realized he had something that he had to protect, he didn't take his eyes off you. Lloyd was obsessed with keeping you safe." Genis paused. "He lost everything when he was little. His- I mean your mother and father disappeared, he was left with nothing. When he found out he had a little sister, he didn't know what to think. Now he knows that he just has to keep you safe."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could Lloyd walked up behind us and place a hand on my shoulder and turned toward Genis, "We'll be right back." Genis nodded and Lloyd directed my wheelchair in the direction of the dirt road.

"So," Lloyd broke the silence. "What's on your mind?"

"What's on my mind? Well, I'm trying to think of a way to get back at you for reading my journal without permission." I snickered.

Lloyd sighed. "I just wanted to find a way to get your memory back and saw the journal. Anyone would have read it."

"No Lloyd, no one other than you would have read it."

"You know, you're making it really hard to have a serious moment!"

"That's what I'm here for!" I smiled. Lloyd glared at me. "Fine, I'll be serious."

"Thanks," His voice sounded conflicted. "So what do you think of all this?"

"I was pretty upset about it before, but after talking with Genis, I realized that just because I learned something new about my family, doesn't mean I can get upset. Learning that I had an older brother should have excited me." I ran a hand through my wavy brown hair. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of ran out like that."

Lloyd shook his head, "Don't worry about it. When I found out, I ran too, mostly from the shock."

"Does this change anything?"

"Nothing at all," Lloyd stated. "It just means that no matter what, we stick together."

I nodded. "It also means that even after I get my memory back, I can stay with you. Right?"

"Of course," He said with a smile.

We made a lap around town and went back to where we had left Genis. "We're back!" Lloyd announced as we approached.

"Oh good!" Genis and Lloyd made eye contact. "Raine wants to talk to you."  
Lloyd's eyes filled with fear. "I'm not going to get hurt am I?"

"I don't know, Colette came by before and told her how you never studied for the test."

Lloyd put his hands to his face. "I am going to die." He looked down at me. "You should head home. I'll be there soon… I hope." He turned and walked inside Genis and Raine's home with Genis following behind.

As I turned away from the house I heard screaming coming from inside. I thought about going back to see if everyone was okay, but decided against it. Lloyd should have studied.

When I got home Dirk wasn't there so I went upstairs and out on the balcony. It was mid-afternoon so the sun was hanging in the east. Everything was calm. I looked around the area and out of the corner of my eye I saw something move in the bushes. I glanced in that direction and saw nothing there. Confused I turned around and went back inside.

I entered the room and a spiky auburn haired man with a purple silhouette standing in the middle of the room. I wanted to move, but my hands were glued to my sides. Who was this man? Why was he here?

He stared at me with a blank face. "Your hurt."

"U-Umm."

The man knelt down in front of me and started casting. "First Aid," He stood. "Stand up."

At first I didn't obey his command, but he glared at me and I immediately stood. I expected my legs to give out causing me to fall, but when I stood, I stood firm. My eyes widened. If I had known that First Aid would have healed my legs, then I would have gone to Professor and asked her to heal me. But why was he helping me?

I met the man's gaze. "Who are you and why did you heal me?"

"That's not important." It was hard to tell, but his face looked slightly shocked.

"Then why are you here?"

"Don't ask questions." The man demanded.

"Just one!" I shouted. He stood firm and gently nodded his head. "Why do you look so familiar?"

He was silent. His face stoned. I couldn't tell if he was upset or not. Instead of answering my question, he looked away. "Don't get hurt again." And with that he was gone.


	4. Chapter 3

The day had started, but I didn't want to get out of bed. My legs weren't supposed to be working yet so I didn't want anyone to find out how. I had avoided it yesterday by saying that I wasn't feeling well and I wanted to stay in bed. Sadly, that made Lloyd really nervous and he was bugging me until he fell asleep. Now, I would need to get up, move my legs. Maybe they wouldn't be that surprised!

"You're walking!"

So much for that idea.

I had walked downstairs to find Lloyd sitting at the table eating an omelette. His fork had been halfway from his plate and his mouth when I entered the room, the fork fell from his hands and he ran up to me.

"How are you walking? The doctor said that you wouldn't be able to for a few weeks." Lloyd exclaimed.

I rubbed the back of my head, "How should I know, I just woke up this morning and I was able to walk." I looked away. "Nothing special."

His eyes narrowed. "Positive?"

"Super positive." I lied with a innocent smile.

Lloyd smiled. "Okay! You want any breakfast?"

He let it go so quickly. "Sure, but I'll make it myself. Not that you're not a good cook, but the dinner you brought me yesterday made me want to die."

He burst out laughing, "I didn't cook that food! That was Professor's cooking. Sorry, she made me give it to you…"

"Are you trying to kill me!? If you knew Professor couldn't cook, why did you give it to me?"

"Well, you've never had her cooking before so I wanted you to experience the magic." Lloyd said with a grin.

"You're a jerk."

He shrugged, "I did the same thing to Colette when I was younger. She ate everything on her plate and told Professor that it was delicious, just to spare her feelings."

"I don't think I would be able to do that." I glanced over at Lloyd's omelette. "Umm, could you make me an omelette too?"

Lloyd smiled, "Already made you one!" He picked up a plate that had an omelette on it and placed it on the table. "I thought you would want one, so I made an extra."

"Thanks," We sat down at the table and ate the omelettes. To my surprise, it was actually good! It was so good that I finished mine before Lloyd did. "I'm heading out!" I picked up my bag and started to walk towards the door.

"Wait for me!" Lloyd shoveled the rest of the food into his mouth, grabbed his bag and ran out the door. "Race you there!"

"Hey!" I shouted after him. I started to sprint towards town and saw that Lloyd was about ten yards away. I wasn't going to lose, at least not to Lloyd. I sped up and got within three feet of him. His scarf was waving the breeze, it was in grabbing distance. I reached out and grabbed the scarf to yank him back.

"That's cheating!" Lloyd shouted as he fell back a few feet.

"All's fair in love and war!"

I was about twenty yards from the town gate, I was going to win. I started to run even faster, wanting to win. As I neared the gate I felt Lloyd jump on my back causing us both to fall. We started to wrestle on the ground, trying to reach past the gate. While doing this a tall shadow appeared above us.

"Just what are you doing?" Raine's voice ran through the air.

I shoved Lloyd to the side so that I could stand up. "I was trying to leave to go to school when Lloyd challenged me to a race, so blame him," I said pointed to him.

Her eyes met Lloyd's and he froze with fear. "It wasn't my fault! You didn't have to agree!"

"You told me to race so I did! What was I supposed to do just stand there!"

"Would you two stop bickering for two seconds!?" Raine shouted.

"Sorry," Lloyd and I said in unison.

Raine shook her head, "You've barely known each other longer than a few weeks, how can you fight that much?"

We looked at each other. "I don't know if you'd call this fighting," I announced.

"Maybe, friend -er family argument?" Lloyd finished for me.

Raine held her hand up and glared at me, "Wait a second, family?"

I rubbed the back of my head, "Guess no one told you…"

Lloyd must of noticed that I had before slightly uncomfortable because he answered for me. "We found out that Vivian is my little sister, but somehow we were separated when Dad found me. I really don't understand it, so it's hard to explain."

Her eyes narrowed, "So your telling me that this girl randomly appears in town and just happens to be your sister. Did Dirk tell you this?" When Lloyd nodded she just shook her head. "Now I have to deal with two Irving's."

"...Irving." I whispered to myself.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Lloyd shouted at Raine.

"It means exactly how it sounds."

"Humph," Lloyd said looking away.

No one said anything for a minute. Raine must of gotten annoyed by the silence, because she pulled us to our feet. "Get to class!"

"Yes Professor!" We both yelled as we started to run to the school house.

Everyone else was already inside and in their seats, so we must of been pretty late. No wonder Raine was upset. I probably made Lloyd late by sleeping in. No… he would've been late anyway. I started to snicker to myself when I walked towards my desk. Wait… didn't Lloyd say something about a test? Crap! I haven't been here in weeks! How was I supposed to pass?

Raine walked into the room and everyone went silent. I wouldn't want to say anything, she still had death in her eyes. "I hope you all studied, because if you remember me telling you, we have a test today." She looked around at all her students and her eyes fell on me. "And even if you haven't here in a few weeks, you still take the test." Shit! How was I supposed to know the answers when I haven't been taught it? I gave her a nod to tell her that I understood. (Even though I really didn't want to take it.) "There are 4 questions, you have half an hour." She handed everyone the test and walked back to her desk.

I looked down at the paper. Okay, I can do this.

 _Question #1_

 _What is the quadratic formula?_

 _Quadratic formula? I really don't know what that is…_

 _Question #2_

 _What's PI? Simplify to the nearest hundredth_

 _Oh, I know that! 3.14_

 _Question #3_

 _Write a summary of the Kharlan War._

 _Umm, this is sad. I have no clue what that is and it's something that everyone knows!_

 _Question #4_

 _Give a brief summary on Sylvarant's geographic features._

 _Oh god, Raine was going to kill me!_

I only knew one answer. Maybe I'm not the only one. Next to me Lloyd had already finished his test and was taking a nap. Hmm, wonder how he did. I looked at his test (not cheating, definitely not cheating) and he filled out all the answers, but his answers were were worse then me not answering the questions. He answered, what is PI, with a delicious dessert. How can I be related to such an idiot?

Related… Did that mean I wasn't Vivian Aurion anymore? Would I change my last name to Irving? I don't really mind, maybe it would be better. I'm overthinking this. Lloyd doesn't seem to be bothered by the whole 'I'm your sister' thing. Or is he and he's just hiding it? Why wouldn't he be bothered? He just learned that a girl that just randomly showed up in the village of Iselia was his little sister. I really need to stop thinking about this. Ugh, my head hurts.

Thankfully, Raine told everyone that time was up and she collected the tests. I had a feeling that this was going to end badly.

Class ended a few hours later and everyone started to flood out of the room. When I was halfway through the door Raine told me to stay in the room for a minute. Oh god, here is comes.

"Y-Yes?" I questioned as I walked towards her.

"You failed that test. You only answered one of the questions. I can't have you fail, so," She paused. The pause scared me. Her eyes brightened. "I'm going to tutor you!"

"What? Tutor me?" I shouted, very confused. "But, I've only been in this class for like two days! At least give me some time before you start tutoring!"

Raine sighed. "You need to be able to recite the information that was on the test by the end of the week. If you can do that then I won't tutor you."

I nodded, "Alright! I can do that!" Before she could say anything else I ran out the door.

Outside Lloyd and Colette were conversing. I probably was interrupting, but anything was better than being tutored by Raine.

Colette gasped as I ran up, "Are you alright? Did something happen?"

"No, Professor wanted to… tutor me…" I said in between breaths.

Lloyd burst out laughing, "She wants to tutor me too! I always find a way to avoid it."

I put my hands on his shoulders and started to shake him. "I can't avoid it! She says that I need to know the answers to the questions on the test by the end of the week!"

"I'm sure Genis would be happy to teach you. His methods are a lot better than Professor's," He explained. "Plus he has the best grades in class."

"I don't know if that's possible," Colette added. "Him and Professor are leaving tomorrow for Palmacosta, they won't be back till the end of the week."

"Nice, that's why she gave me till the end of the week. Because the person who would help the most is going to be gone." I sighed. "Hey Colette, do you want to help me?"

"I would love to, but she already told me not to."

"I'm doomed." My head fell. "I don't know anyone else who could help."

Lloyd started to wave his hands in the air.

"How am I supposed to learn this?"

Lloyd continued to wave his hands in the air, but now he was jumping up and down.

"What are you doing?" I asked staring at him.

"I'm trying to get your attention!

"Why?"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "You know I could help you too."

I paused and started to laugh. "Really? You probably failed the test too!"

"So!?"

"Do you have any idea what the correct answers are?"

"Well… no."

"I'll just go to the village library. I'm sure I can find my answers there."

"You're a jerk."

"Idiot!"

Colette was standing in between us laughing. "You know what? You two should study together!"

"Study with her? Never." Lloyd said turning away from me. "She thinks I'm an idiot."

"Why would I study with him? He's always teasing me." I said turning around.

"You two really need to stop fighting. If you're family then you can't do that everyday," Colette interjected.

Lloyd and I sighed and spoke at the same time, "Fine, not like we have a choice…" We paused. "Hey! Stop talking at the same time as me! Seriously! Stop it! I mean it!" We turned to Colette who was laughing even harder. "What are you laughing at?"

"You may be fighting, but when siblings talk at the same time, it means they have a close relationship." She said with a smile.

"Siblings…" We said still talking at the same time. We glared at each other, but we soon broke out into laughter. "We're such dorks!"

Lloyd swung his arm over my shoulder and put me into a loss headlock. "Hey, let go!" I shouted.

It seemed that Lloyd had totally forgotten the fact that we were fighting like two seconds ago because he couldn't stop laughing. He looked so happy.

Me on the other hand, I had a fake smile on my face. It was really bugging me that Lloyd and I were separated when we were little. It didn't seem to be bothering him. Why?

* * *

Everything was quiet, the sky was dark and the stars were out. I was asleep in my bed, everything seemed normal. Except for the fact that I was having nightmares. Nightmares about the Desians and the Human Ranches. I was tossing and turning. When a man's face became visible my eyes shot open. A rush of panic ran through me. I jumped out of bed and shook Lloyd awake.

"Lloyd I remember… Everything."


	5. Chapter 4

"What? You remember?" Lloyd asked. He was practically asleep, but I was forcing him to stay awake.

I nodded. "Can I explain everything? I don't want to keep this to myself."

"Of course! I need to know!" He shouted. I placed my index finger to my lips.

"Shh, I don't want Dirk to hear us." When he nodded, I looked down. How was I supposed to explain this when I barely understood it?

"Well, I really don't remember anything before we were separated, but after that the Desians took me to the Palmacosta Human Ranch. I was only two so it was probably impossible for me to hide. There they implanted a special kind of exsphere on my body." I paused and fingered my purple exsphere. "Every other prisoner in the ranch didn't have a Key Crest, but they gave me one. It started to take away my emotions-"

"They gave you a Key Crest?!" Lloyd interrupted, sitting up in his bed now. "That's odd, but why did it take away your emotions?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, it doesn't make sense to me either. After giving me the exsphere, they put me into a cell with a few other prisoners. We became friends, but then one day, they all disappeared." I looked down, tears rolling down my eyes. "A few other prisoners told me that the Desians killed them. I wasn't able to deal with that. I couldn't help think that it was my fault. It was so terrible! But then… I did something I shouldn't have done. I was about seven at the time, but I managed to get my hands on a weapon."

Lloyd's mouth opened, it seemed like he wanted to say something. He stopped himself, thinking it wasn't the right time to interject. I continued.

"The weapon I found was a sword, I had never used a sword so I really didn't want to use it. In my head I was telling myself that I had to avenge the people who were murdered. I kept saying no, but then a Desian Grand Cardinal came to my cell. He started to threaten me, saying that if I didn't cooperate, he would kill me." I looked down. "Scared of dying, I grabbed the sword and started to attack him, but of course, he was stronger than me. I thought I was going to die, but before he could kill me a man stabbed him in the back causing him to fall. I believe the man's name was Kratos. Well, Kratos helped me escape from the Ranch, he never said much until we got out. Even then I have no memory of what he said. He started asking me things, but I never answered, I was basically emotionless."

Lloyd leaned closer, "Why would this Kratos guy help you?"

"I think he said something about having to repay a debt, but I don't really know." I sighed. "When he realized I had no emotion left, he started to sort of panic. He brought me to a dwarf and had him make me a Key Crest. The Key Crest brought back all my emotions to the way they were before. After that we traveled together, hiding from the Desians. Sadly, we couldn't hide forever. They soon found us and captured me again. All they did was take me to the nearest Ranch and torture me like any other prisoner. They just moved me to different Ranches a lot. I think that's it." I said happy to finally stop.

Lloyd was silent. The look on his face told me that he understood just about as much as I did. He probably thought that I was going to put the village in danger, I mean the Desians were most likely still after me. When I started to apologize, he placed his hands on my shoulders and shook his head.

"Don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong. The Desians are at fault. I wish I wasn't so powerless to stop them."

"Lloyd…" I started, but Lloyd cut me off.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. My eyes grew wide. His reaction sounded so abnormal, most people would start freaking out. I thought that he would jump to conclusions and think that I was working with them, but he trusted me, even if I was possibly putting the village in danger just by being here. He really felt like an older brother to me now, he was there for me even when I was down. No matter what.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears started to roll down my cheeks like a river. I haven't felt love like this in so long, it felt so good, I never wanted to lose it. Everything I had done could come back and hurt us, but at this moment, I was safe, everyone was safe.

I looked up at Lloyd, "So none of this bothers you? Me being your sister and once a prisoner at the Desian Ranch? If the Desians are looking for me then I could be putting a lot of people in danger."

"It doesn't bother me at all," Lloyd said with a smile. "You're my sister and I love you and even though you've been to a Desian Ranch, I still trust you. And if the Desians are stupid enough to come after you then we'll just kick their asses!"

Why was Lloyd so amazing? Everything he had said made me feel so much better. Just hearing that he trusted me made me want to never let go of him.

My tears continued to fall, but now they were happy tears. I couldn't stop crying, and now I couldn't stop laughing. I had worried about what Lloyd was thinking this entire time for nothing. "Thanks! I really needed that."

"That's what I'm here for." Lloyd said while wiping my tears away. "Now this is going to sound like a really stupid question for the serious moment, but I have to ask. When's your birthday?"

"My birthday? I think it's July 9th." I stated.

His eyes grew wide. "July 9th!? That's today!

"Really?" I rubbed the back of my head.

"Yes! Nice now I won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night. So is there anything special you would want?"

"Hmm, I don't know, I've never really thought about it. Surprise me."

Lloyd sighed. "Alright! Now you should probably go back to bed, there's still a few hours before daylight."

I nodded and sat down on my bed. "Thanks again, for everything."

He smiled, "Of course! That's what family is for!"

* * *

No one was in the cabin. Dirk left a note saying he would be gone for a few days and Lloyd was probably goofing off somewhere.

I sighed, remembering that Raine was going to tutor me if I didn't know the answers to the test. I looked around and saw that there weren't any books lying around. Knowing I wasn't going to find what I needed here, I picked up my bag and headed out the door.

Most of the villagers were wondering around town running the daily errands so I fit in with the few people that were out. I needed to study Sylvarant History and Geography, and then a little Math. The village didn't have a library so I went to the school right away. Of course, no one was in the building because class was canceled for the rest of the week. It was quiet, perfect for studying. I picked up a History book and began to read.

 _The Kharlan War… A battle between two powerful countries that lasted 1,000 years. The Desians were said to be one of the causes of the war. Mithos the Hero and the Goddess Martel ended the war, ridding the world of the Desians for many years. Even after years of freedom, Sylvarant began to run low on mana, causing the Desians to re-appear. This is why the Goddess bless the world with the Chosen of Regeneration, to vanish the Desians from Sylvarant._

I put the book back on the shelf, deciding that that was enough studying for now, and sighed. "I'm really bored now." I turned and walked out of the room, to the outside.

"I wonder what Colette's doing." I looked around, "Now where would she be?"

I was wandering around the village when I spotted Colette talking with Lloyd. I was about to call out to them, but I heard Lloyd say my name and I became nervous. I hid behind a small shop near them, I felt really bad, but I began to listen in.

"She remembered? That's so great!" That was Colette.

"Yes, she was really terrified when she told me. She was a prisoner at the Desian Ranches and they tortured her." I could hear the anger in Lloyd's voice. "I will never forgive the Desians for what they did to her! Never!"

I gasped, he didn't show this much anger last night. Had he bottled it up so that I wouldn't worry?

"Lloyd, calm down. We can't do much, but I think all she wants is support." Colette explained. "Please don't do anything rash."

"I-I won't, but for now this is the best I can do for her. Will it all be ready in time?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure it will! This is going to make her so happy!"

"I hope so!" I could hear them giving each other a high-five and I looked around the corner to see what was going on and saw Lloyd coming in my direction. I started to freak out. It would be so bad if he found out I was listening. Turning around I bolted in the opposite direction.

"Hmm," I sighed. Now I had to avoid Lloyd, he was still behind me. Had he seen me? I really hope not. There was a weapons shop not to far away so I decided to hide in there.

Walking into the shop, I saw swords hanging on the walls, daggers in cases, bow and arrows sitting on shelves and other various weapons. They were so sparkly! I immediately began to look at the swords, they were my favorite weapon. None of them really interested me until I saw a one handed sword sitting in it's own case. It was a long silver blade with a black handle, the handle had a small purple gem sitting at it's base. Now this was the best sword in the shop! I called the store manager over and asked him if I could hold the blade. He nodded and pulled it out of the case. I held the sword in my hand. It was so lightweight, so easy to move. It was perfect.

I sighed. I don't even know how to fight, why would I ever need a sword? But the sword was so amazing! I couldn't take my eyes off it.

I must have been a little too mesmerized by the blade because when someone behind me placed a hand on my shoulder I let out a small scream.

Turning around I saw that the hand belonged to Lloyd. "Whoa! It's just me!" I looked down and realized that I was pointing the sword at Lloyd's stomach.

"Umm, sorry!" I lowered the sword.

He waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. What are you doing anyway?"

"Oh I was studying at school, when I kind of got bored so I started to wander around the village. I found this shop and decided to check it out."

"Pretty cool right?" Lloyd said with a big grin. "I come here all the time to look at the new weapons. Normally if I want new swords dad will make me some, but it's fun to look at them. I've learned about the weapons in this store, so if you have any questions just ask!"

I looked down at the sword in my hand. "Well, what type of sword is this?"

"That's a rare type of magic blade. It's mostly used by mages, but some others use it just for the extra magic power," Lloyd explained.

"It's amazing, it feels so right in my hand." I smiled.

He nodded. "That's what it's like when you find the perfect weapon!" He rested his hand on his chin and looked at the price of the sword, "Woah, 2,000 gald! That's a little expensive." Lloyd reached into his bag and took out a small handful of gald. "Hmm, I think I'll buy it anyway." He placed the 2,000 gald onto the counter and told the clerk that he would buy the sword that was in my hand.

After making the purchase he turned to me and gave me a thumbs up. "Happy Birthday!"

My eyes widened. "You didn't have to do that, I don't even know how to fight. Why would I need a sword if I don't know how to use it?"

"I'm pretty good with my swords so I'm sure I could teach you!" Lloyd's eyes lit up. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Okay!" This was going to be so amazing. I could learn how to fight like Lloyd!

Lloyd turned to walk out the door, but turned back towards the counter. "I almost forgot! You'll need a sheath!"

I facepalmed, he was really getting into this.

After Lloyd and I finished at the weapons shop, he left saying that he had something important that he had to do. I assume he was going off to do the thing that he told Colette about. (During that time when I may or may not of been eavesdropping.) He told me that five minutes after he left to head home. I wonder what he was doing.

I glanced down at the blade that was resting in a sheath on my waist. That was far too generous of Lloyd, he really didn't need to buy me a sword. Not that I was complaining or anything, I just didn't think he had to get me anything.

I looked up at the sky. It's probably been five minutes, so I started to walk back to the cabin. Whatever Lloyd had planned, I was really scared to find out what it was. He wouldn't do anything too stupid right?... Okay, maybe I had something to worry about.

The cabin was in sight, it looked as if no one was there, Noishe wasn't even in his pen. I shrugged it off and opened the door. When I walked inside Colette and Lloyd were standing in the middle of the room.

"Surprise!" They both shouted.

I let out a scream. The inside of the cabin was decorated with flowers and a big banner that read:

 _Happy Birthday Vivian!_

They did all this for me? There was even a small cake on the table!

"Oh my! You guys are the best!" I ran up to them and gave them both a hug. "You didn't have to do this!"

"We couldn't not do anything. This is your first birthday in Iselia!" Colette smiled.

"I would feel really bad if I didn't throw you a party!" Lloyd grinned. "Sadly, everyones out of town so it's just us, but it's better than nothing!"

I released them from the hug. "No one's ever done this for me before, thank you so much!"

After that we spent the next few hours doing a lot of talking, mostly just to get to know each other better. Lloyd told me stories about the multiple times Colette fell through the walls of the school and Colette told me about the times that Lloyd was almost killed by Professor Sage. I didn't have many happy memories to tell, but I shared with them the time when at the Desian Ranch, a girl my age I met, Ashton and I kept throwing rocks in random directions to confuse the Desians.

In the end Lloyd ended up falling asleep three minutes after Colette went home. I really didn't want to disturb him, so I decided to take a walk outside.

It was so calm, no breeze, no sounds, it was nice.

I realized that I never went around the back of the cabin so I started to wander in that direction. At the end of the path there was a small grave. My curiosity got the best of me and I walked up to the grave to read the inscription.

It read,

Here lies Anna Irving

A loving mother to her children

What? Anna Irving… Irving was Lloyd's last name… and mine. That meant that… she was my mother… and that… she was dead.

My knees fell to the ground. My mother was dead, and I never knew. Any hope I had that she was alive was gone. She was gone. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. For all I knew, my father was dead as well. I clenched my fists, I didn't want to believe it, but how couldn't I. The grave was sitting right in front of me. I let out a scream. Everything hurt. This… no…

I heard footsteps behind me, Lloyd had ran outside after I screamed.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Lloyd asked as he knelt down beside me.

"A-Anna is… mom, isn't she?"

Lloyd gasped and wrapped his arms around me, "I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, but I didn't want you to find out on your birthday."

The tears continued to roll down my face. No matter what anyone said, I wasn't going to feel better. My mother was dead. Lloyd allowed me to cry as much as I needed, I wanted to stop but I couldn't.

Neither Lloyd nor I said anything, which made the next moment even weirder.

"I'm sorry."

Our heads popped up and before us was a young woman that looked around the age of 30. She gave us a weak smile.

"I've caused you both a lot of pain, I'm sorry."

Wait, that was…

"Mom?" Lloyd spoke up.

It was. Mom was standing right in front of me. But she wasn't a solid form, she was more of a ghostly figure.

She continued to smile at us, it was warm and loving. I knew it well.

The figure nodded. "Yes. It's great to see you both together again. Have you been well?" Her gaze fell on me.

"Well, umm… I've been…" I began but was never able to finish my sentence.

"She's doing fine." Lloyd spoke up for me. "She just needs time to get settled here."

"It's about time you found a forever home. You've been running for far too long," Anna stated.

I gave a weak nod. Why can't I form any words?

Anna placed her hand on my shoulder, her face becoming serious. "I need to tell you something important. There was a reason the Desians were after you. They want to use the magic that you will one day have to their advantage."

My face filled with shock, "What? I can use magic?"

She nodded and continued on. "All the Desians want is power and you had shown signs of magic that hasn't been used in over four thousand years. That magic, depending on how it's used, will either save this world or destroy it."

Lloyd began to slowly shake his head, "No. There's no way that Vivian would ever destroy the world!"

"I don't believe that she would either, but there are ways to manipulate her magic. Especially if she doesn't know to control it. That's why I'm telling you all this now, so you can control it."

"But I've never used magic. How can I control it if I've never used it?" I questioned.

Anna gave me a warm smile, "That's for you to find out." She paused for a second before sighing, "My time is growing short. I need to go. Remember what I said, control it." Her voice faded away and a few seconds later, our mother was gone.


End file.
